Basilisk Transformation
by DJmuppet
Summary: This story I found on Deviant art i loved it so much i decided to continue it /art/Basilisk-Transformation-150397696) averything passed Chapter 5 is my work, the rest id His/Her's. This is the story of Logan Green and how his life changed forever.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Logan Green.

I thought I was just a normal kid. Kept out of trouble, kept myself busy with football, and always making sure I had time to study and get good grades. I guess I have my dad to thank for that. He's always on my back about doing well in school. I know in my heart he means well and that he loves me very much, but at times I hate him for that.

But everything I thought I knew, everything I thought was real, turned out to be one great big fat lie. And that monsters are not just legends, but reality.

And I was one of them.

It all began one day after any other normal day of high school. It was a Friday, I remember that one random fact for some strange reason. Probably because it was the day my life took a turn for the worse.

That's the day I met _her_.

She was standing right next to my car. I had never seen this girl before, but she instantly caught my eye. I'm not going to deny it; she was hot. Long, curly dark brown hair with equally dark eyes, tanned skin, the real kind, not the fake tanned crap, and she was very thin, lean, and toned. I find myself at loss for words as I just stare at her.

"Um . . . can I help you?" I finally stuttered out.

"You're Logan, right?" she asks. I nod. She then gave me a dazzling smile. "I'm Angela, but you can call me Angie."

Angela. What a nice name.

I don't really remember what happened next. We start talking. Just small talk. I remember asking her if she went to my high school, Derion High. She shakes her head, saying she actually goes to Delphi.

Never heard of it.

We talk some more, and then I offer to take her out for some coffee. I don't know why, it just seemed to be the right thing to do at the time. She gladly accepts, and we just continue talking some more on our way over. She's very open about herself and really listens to me when I talk. And she isn't a chatterbox like some other girls are. Sometimes she'll let me go off about myself, and will sit there, and nod and smile in all the right places.

I start to like her. There was something different about Angela that set her apart from all the other girls I've met, but I couldn't put my finger on it at the time. But around her, I felt at ease and comfortable. She was easy to talk to, and a great listener.

We arrive at the shop and I buy her coffee for her. She insists on paying it herself, but I insist on treating her. She gives up and we take our seats. But I could have sworn she slid a five down one of my pockets when I wasn't paying attention.

We talk some more. We find things we are both interested. She likes hard rock and alternative, I do, as well. She likes the older films with actual plots and complex characters, I laugh and full-heartedly agree with her. I remember asking where she was from, if she was born here in Medford, Oregon, or if she moved here from somewhere else. She tells me she was born in Canada but moved to America when she was very little.

"Canada? Really? Get out!" I said. "You're a surprising person, Angie."

She laughs. "You don't know the half of it. So tell me, what are some of your hobbies at Derion?"

"Well, I'm on the defensive line on my varsity football team," I said. I kept myself from bragging about how my coach always complimented that I was the best defensive player on the team. I didn't think she would like me bragging. "Just your average jock, nothing special." I reach forward and take a small sip from my coffee, which is by this time lukewarm.

"I think you're something special," she says suddenly.

I almost gag on my drink. Whatever I was expecting her to say, it certainly wasn't that. I can feel my cheeks grow hot and red.

"Um . . . that's something a girlfriend would usually say," I said nervously. And now that I'm thinking back on this, that wasn't probably the best thing to say, either.

Angie leans forward, placing a hand under her chin. "Oh? Do you have a girlfriend?" she asks. She isn't sharp or seemingly jealous at all, just curious.

"Well . . . no," I admit. True, I'm kind of picky when it comes to developing any sort of relationship. "The only people that ever seem to be interested are shallow cheerleaders. They don't seem to care about me; all they care about is that I'm a jock." Ok, maybe that was a little hard, but it was somewhat true. All the damn cheerleaders keep throwing themselves at me because they think it's romantic and cute. Bt if I'm going to have a girlfriend, I want someone who's interested in me.

She looks at me with a strange expression, something that looked like a mix between pity and frustration. Maybe I'm not good at reading expressions, but she did seem to look at me almost as if she was sorry for me. Like I cared if I had a girlfriend.

She stands up. "Listen, I gotta get going, but do you have anything planned for tomorrow?"

I shook my head. "No, why?"

She gives me a coy smile. "Then meet me in the forest preserve at noon. Don't be late." Turning on her heel, she just walks out the door without a backward glance.

I smile to myself. "Wouldn't dream of it," I said to myself. Angie was definitely an interesting person, and the thought of just the two of us hanging out in the nearby forest preserve excited me.

_Maybe,_ I thought. _This is the start of something good._

Little did I know how wrong I was.

I woke up the next morning, excited to see Angie again . . . but I feel strange. Almost like I'm sick but . . . not really. I had an uneasy stomach, and a slight headache, but I wasn't nauseous. There was a weird tingling sensation in my arms and lower back, but it wasn't painful, just kind of . . . there. I wasn't sure what to make of it. It was unlike anything I had felt before. I shrugged it off, thinking that it was just a result from me waking up too fast.

I get dressed, pulling on an old hoodie because I felt slightly chilled. My dad was up before me and was downstairs watching the morning news. He glances over his shoulder at me as I head out the door.

"Going out to meet your new girlfriend?" he asks jokingly.

I give him a sideways look. "She's not my girlfriend."

"Yet," he says with a wink. I can't help but to laugh and head out.

The state forest preserve is about a twenty minute drive from my house. It's a nice size, over 200 acres of dense forest, and not terribly used. In fact, not many people used it this time of year, although I particularly enjoyed going there when I had a free day.

But when I got there, I was struck with a sudden thought. Angie could be anywhere in that 200 acre mess. How would I find her?

Thankfully, my question was answered. Pulling into the parking lot, I saw a large yellow rock off to the side with a note on it. Curious, I walked over to it and read the note.

_Logan- follow the yellow rocks! ;) -Angie_

I smiled. How cute.

I looked up, and saw a small bright yellow pebble leading off the trail and ito the heart of the woods. I ducked under some branches and carefully stepped over a thorn bush as I pushed my way through. I spot more yellow rocks along my way and continue to follow them. But the farther I went, the more strange I felt. My body suddenly broke out into a cold sweat, and the tingling sensation had spread all over me. I stopped. Why did I feel so weird? It didn't hurt, it just didn't feel right.

But as I thought that, a sharp jab of pain suddenly split down my back. I gasp loudly, pressing ahand to the base of my spine where the pain had been the sharpest.

What the hell was that?!

But as soon as the pain appeared, it vanished. I stand there for a moment trying to figure out what just happened and why. After this little meeting with Angie, I should seriously consider going to a doctor. I kept going. I wanted to see Angie again, but the pain kept coming back. It was manageable, just a dull throbbing in my back and arms. I shook my head. Mabe I was getting sick.

I finally meet Angie in the middle of a small clearing. She smiles warmly at me, but she can notice my discomfort. Thankfully, she doesn't say anything for the moment. I notice her hands are clasped behind her back, and a duffel bag lies at her feet.

"I finally found you!" I said. "I almost didn't make it, but I wanted to see you again."

She smiles again, but it's forced. I can sense her worry and anxiety. She looks me over, and takes a deep breath.

"Logan, I don't have much time. There's something important I need to tell you," she says. Her serious tone immediately grabs my attention, and I step closer to her.

"What is it?" I ask.

"What if I told you that all of those mythical creatures in fairy tales and legends actually exist?" she says. She looks me right in the eye as she asks her question. And she is dead serious.

"What?" I exclaim. Of all the things to tell me, she's going to try to convince me fairy tales are real?!

"It's true!" she says. "All of those creatures exist! I am one! And you are, too."

Now this is just too much. Yesterday she had been completely normal, but now she just sounded crazy. "What the hell are you talking about, Angie?" I said.

"I'm talking about dragons! Gryphons, mermaids, _werewolves_, they're all real! And we are both some type of mythical being!" she said. She's getting frustrated and looks about ready to panic. I don't know what's worse; the fact that she's trying to convince me unicorns are real or the fact that she seriously believes this.

I shake my head. "Look, I don't know what sort of stupid joke this is-" I say, but I am cut off when I hear a very strange cracking noise, like rumpling aluminum foil mixed with popping Rice Krispy Treats. I stare at Angie, and see her begin to change. My jaw drops wide open as I see brown fur grow all over her body.

"Oh sweet Jesus!" I hear myself say, but Angie doesn't stop changing. Her ears turn more pointed and shift up to the top of her skull. Her hands take on a more rounded shape, and black claws replace her nails. A tail sprouts out of the base of her spine, and she falls to all fours. In the blink of an eye, she transformed right before my very eyes into a large wolf.

I take several steps backwards. No. No way. That's impossible! Things like this don't happen!

A moment later, the wolf changes back into a human form, back into Angie. I don't trust my eyes anymore. It had to be a trick. It just wasn't real! Her yellow eyes-now turning back to a normal brown color-meet my own.

"I know, this is all very sudden and shocking, but I don't have enough time to explain everything properly," she says apologetically. "The reason why I met you is because you're someone like me. And soon, you'll change, as well."

I can only stand there and gawk at her. I find my voice, but it's weak and cracking. "You mean . . . you mean I'm going to turn into a wolf, too?!" I shout.

Angie winces and bites her lower lip. "Well, no, not a wolf . . ." she says slowly. Something in her voice catches my attention and only makes me panic more.

"Well, if I'm going to change, what am I going to change into?" I challenge her.

She hesitates. "A basilisk," she finally says.

"A _what?!_" I cry. A basilisk?! No! I couldn't be . . . be a _basilisk!_ That giant killer snake thing in that _Harry Potter_ movie?! No way I could be that monster!

"The changes have already started," Angie says. Then out of the duffel bag, she pulls out a large syringe with a very, very long needle. The sight of it made me shudder. "You feel sick and cold. You have cramps all over your body. Your body is covered in a cold sweat-"

"Shut up!" I said suddenly.

She goes on. "Your hands are shaking and you feel as though your entire body is on fire."

_"I said shut up!"_ It disturbs me how accurate her predictions are. I clenched my teeth until they began to hurt. But everything else in my body was starting to hurt as well. My back exploded in pain and the numb sensation returned worse than ever to my hands. A sudden flash of pain erupts through my entire chest, and I cry out in agony.

Angie rushes to my side. "Don't fight it! You have to relax! If you fight it, it'll only make it worse!"

"Get away from me you _freak!_" I say. I don't want what she said to be true. I couldn't be turning into a monster! I just couldn't!

Suddenly, Angie swings the syringe down and plunges it deep into my shoulder. I cry out in pain. "What the hell was that for?!" I scream at her.

"You're a basilisk! A single glance can kill someone!" she says. "I gave you a potion that will make you harmless."

I am not reassured at all. The pain splitting across my entire body grows so great I collapse to my knees. I'm shaking from head to foot, hot tears streaming from my eyes.

Everything hurt.

"You have to relax. Don't fight it," Angie says. But I can barely pay her any attention. The pain is absolute hell.

"I'm not like you. I'm not a monster!" I grimance. "Go away!" I yell at her. The pain builds in my hands and I pull them up to my face. I let out a screech of pain as it continues to build until I feel my hands are about to explode.

The skin on my hand starts cracking and shifting, becoming swamp-green in color. I stare in horror as my entire hands are covered in green scales. My fingers crack sickeningly as they become longer, and black claws sprout from my fingertips, deadly, long, hooked claws. I scream in terror.

"No! This can't be happening!" I cry out. I rip off my sweatshirt, and I see the green scales continue to spread all up my arm. I look down at my hands, which are growing bigger and bigger. Suddenly, my middle and ring finger merge together, and my thumb shrinks back into my hand, leaving me with a three-fingered hand. My jaw drops open to scream again, but the changes don't stop.

I feel something pushing out of my elbow painfully, and two long bone-like spikes emerge, one right over my elbow and another one just below the other. I look to my other hand to see the same thing happening. At this point, the shock of transforming has almost entirely blocked out the pain, and I can only sit there and watch in horror as the rest of my body twists and changes.

The scales cover my entire arms and shoulders, and I feel two other spikes pushing their way through my skin on my shoulders. They poke out and extend to about three or four inches and hook towards my elbow. But a semi-transparent membrane is attached to the two spikes. I can feel the muscles in my arms and shoulder grow, ripping apart my t-shirt. The changes stop temporarily, giving me time to look over my arms, now fully transformed into spiky reptilian limbs.

"This isn't right!" I shout. "This can't be happening to me!"

But then the changes start up again, and my back explodes in pain unlike anything before. I bend over forward, groaning, and feel my spine extending and changing. Something is pressing up against my back, and I can feel my vertebrae extending upwards, cracking sickeningly and ripping through my skin and shirt. Once it stops, I spare a glance over my spiked shoulders. My back is covered in even more spikes. There is one particularly long one sticking just below my shoulder blades that is at least a foot and a half long, with the same membrane that was on my shoulders extending from its tip all the way back down to my back. There is one other shorter spike just in front of the bigger one, and I can feel three more spikes pop out of my spine just below the large one.

I turn back to Angie, clambering to my feet, wrapping my unfamiliar arms around my mid-section. "What's happening to me?!" I scream.

She places a reassuring hand on my scaly arms, her eys filled with pain and regret. "Just try to relax, it'll be over soon."

The last thing I wanted to do was relax. My entire body was in pain and changing into a monterish form. I was terrified and near panicking.

I double over as I feel my sides sear with pain. I scream louder than ever before, wrapping my arms tighter around me. If I thought the pain before was bad, this was a thousand times worse. White-hot pain rips me apart from the inside out, and I can hear bones snap and crack loudly inside of me. I feel my spine extending a little bit longer, and then . . . I feel something pressing against my arms. My sides bulge outwards, and with a final shriek of pain, two extra sets of arms burst from my sides. I take one look down at them and scream bloody murder.

**_"What the hell?! What the hell?! WHAT THE HELL?!"_** I shriek. I had four arms! Four freaking arms! These arms were just like my newly morphed reptile arms; covered in green scales and had three clawed fingers with two spikes on the elbows. And the terrifying thing was that I could move them. They were a part of me now.

"I THOUGHT BASILISKS WERE SNAKES! _SNAKES!_" I roar at Angie. I'm waving all four arms at her like crazy, partially because I had no idea how to coordinate them all at once.

Angie, although startled at my outburst, gives me a weak smile. "Actually, basilisks do have multiple limbs."

I was about to yell at her some more, but the transformation continued. I felt something pushing out of my forehead. Raising a hand to my head, I feel a pair of horns sprouting from my forehead and growing bigger. They curved backwards slightly, and I felt two smaller ones grow in as well, also sprouting from my forehead. I lower my hands, when I noticed my ears felt funny as well. For one, I could _move_ them. I felt them, and realized they had transformed into a fin-shape. I could feel the scales continue to creep all over my body, and up to the side of my face.

The base of my spine suddenly grew painful as well, and I twisted around in time to see something bulging in the seat of my pants. I clenched my teeth to keep myself from crying out again in pain.

"Now what?" I growled. A long, whip-like tail suddenly grew from the base of my spine and curled around me, coated in green scales with spikes running along the top of it. I moved it back and forth, staring at it with a strange mix of awe and horror.

At least it wasn't as bad as growing an extra set of arms.

My legs suddenly cramped up, and I fell to my knees, all four of my arms supporting my rapidly growing torso. I could feel my chest grow in size and my spine continue to lengthen, all the while with my feet and legs changing as well. My toes pushed against my shoes as if they had suddenly shrunk five sizes too small. With a sudden burst of pain, my feet ripped through them. But they had changed into scaly three-toed feet, with a long hooked spike protruding from my heel. The feet and toes grew in length and cracked loudly as they shaped into new forms, forcing me to stand on my toes. I felt my hips and spine snap, forcing me to stand on all four-er, six, now-of my limbs.

I could tell the transformation was almost complete. I felt one last horn poking through my skull, and my entire body grew in size. What remained of my clothes ripped away, and the scales on my belly turned a lighter shade of green. The scales along my spine and tail grew darker in color as well.

Then, the final changes consumed my body. My skull seared with unbearable pain. I could feel my teeth lengthen and grow sharper, and new teeth poking their way through my gums. I let out a loud roar and felt my jaws lengthen into a long pointed snout. My tongue grew in length to fill my alligator-like jaws, and I felt two more spikes emerge from the tip of my snout, and one spike grew on my chin. I let out a deafening roar as the final changes took place.

I stood there, no longer a normal human kid, but a great giant six-legged lizard. I opened my eyes and hesitantly looked over my new unfamiliar body, taking in everything from the spikes on my nose to my long serpentine tail.

I could feel my eyes grow wet with tears. No . . . this wasn't right! This isn't me! This can't be real!

I then feel Angie's arms wrap around my neck, as if trying to hug me. I look down at her, and she cradles my long snout in her hands, all the while running her fingers gently up and down my scaly hide.

"I'm sorry, Logan," she said sincerely. "I didn't want this to happen to you."

I can only stand there, and look at her. It was all too much.

I was no longer a normal kid. That life was over.

That day marked the beginning of my new life. The life of a monster.


	2. Chapter 2

I can't comprehend what has just happened to me. It's all just too much to take in.

I had transformed into a basilisk. Into a monster.

My breath is coming in ragged wheezes between my new fangs, making my lungs burn. I want to run as far away as possible from here, but I can't figure out how to walk with six god damn legs. I don't know what to do, but I can feel myself start to go crazy.

Angie's doing everything she can to calm me down but nothing's working. I can hear her soothing voice, I can feel her hands tenderly stroke my foreign and scaly skin, but it does nothing to lessen my panic. I see her mouth moving and I could hear her voice, but I can't interpret what she's trying to say to me. But along with her voice, which seems to me as loud as a stereo turned all the way up, I can sense other things. My nose is flooded with billions of overpowering scents. I can smell every single little thing. And I can hear the tiniest of noises. My senses were now super-human sharp, but it was all too overpowering. I can feel my brain begin to shut down. I start to breathe harder and my heart thunders in my chest. I'm now panicking. _Too much, too much, it was all too much!_

I snap.

I let out a thunderous roar of agony and strike out, swiping Angie away as if she was nothing more than an annoying fly, sending her flying through the air. I try to run, but I don't know how to work all those god damn legs. I crash against a nearby tree and crumple clumsily to the ground. My panic turns to rage and I leap up back to my feet. I viciously strike the tree I had crashed against, and the bark splinters like warm butter beneath my massive claws. I keep striking the tree, again and again, screaming, shrieking, roaring, letting everything out. My rage. My panic. My despair.

But the transformation had left me with little energy, and soon I grew weary. With one final deafening bellow, I claw at the shredded remains of the tree, letting my body slump against the grass.

I couldn't take this anymore.

Tears come to my eyes, and I want nothing more than to curl up and die. But something drags me out of my misery.

Angela.

She hadn't gotten up. She was still lying on the ground, her hands clutching her sides, and she was moaning in pain.

Blood is pouring between her fingers.

I instantly leap to my feet and run to her side. I didn't know how I knew how to walk so suddenly, but I don't care. Angela was hurt, and badly. She had three large gashes in her side, like claw marks-

It dawns on me. _I did this to her!_

She glares up at me, teeth clenched and eyes squinted shut with pain. "Are you quite finished?" she asks me angrily.

A new feeling settles uncomfortably into the pit of my stomach; guilt. She was only trying to help me, but I hurt her. I had lost control and now she was lying there, bleeding.

I don't t know what to do. Had I been human, I would have bandaged up her wound with a shirt or something, but I'm useless in this new over-sized and deadly form. She looks over and tries to crawl to her duffel bag. I nudge her- very, very gently- with my nose, trying to tell her to stay still. She glances up at me, but doesn't move. I turn around and crane my neck over and grab the duffel bag in my jaws and bring it over to her. She gives me a very brief and painful smile of gratitude before she starts rummaging through its contents.

"You're lucky I come prepared," she says and forces out a dry laugh. "And you're also lucky I can heal fast. If I had a dollar for every time someone freaked out on me . . . "

Pulling out a rag, she starts to wipe away the blood, and I notice the wounds are not nearly as bad looking as before. I jerk back in surprise as I watch, fascinated, as her wounds quickly mend themselves. Angie focuses on cleaning the blood off her shirt , but there's still a lot of blood on her back. Blushing only slightly, she turns her back to me and lifts up her shirt half-way to finish cleaning up the blood.

I notice something else on her back. A large, round-shaped scar, just a little bit below the shoulder blade. I step closer for a better look at it. There was no denying it. It was an old gunshot wound.

I wanted to ask her about it, but I didn't know how. I couldn't speak in my new form, not with my large cumbersome jaws and forked tongue (I am still not used to that, either). So I press the tip of my nose against her back. She turns around curiously, and sees me looking intently at her scar.

"Oh, that little thing?" she asks. Angie lets out a soft, sad laugh. "Well . . . that's what you get when you're not very lucky."

I lower my head. Did that mean someone . . . someone shot her when she turned? I want to tell her I'm sorry. I press my head against her shoulder and lift up my right front-most arm and carefully wrap it around her body, like a hug. She tenses for a second, most likely out of surprise, but she giggles. She wraps her arms around my long neck tightly in response.

"Apology accepted, big guy," she said. "I know you have a lot of questions you want to ask me, and we have a lot to talk about in only a short amount of time. That potion I gave you won't last forever."

My eyes go wide. "What?!" I said, but my voice is nothing more than growls and hisses. Angie looks at me and nods, and quickly shifts into her wolf form. I jump back slightly. You would think that after all that's happened this wouldn't freak me out nearly as much as it did.

"Ok, now we can talk. As you might have guessed, I'm a werewolf," Angie said.

"A werewolf?" I repeated. "But . . . I thought they only changed under the full moon . . ." It doesn't dawn on me until after I said this that we were actually talking to each other, but yet, we weren't _talking_. We were barking and growling and hissing at each other, but I could understand her perfectly. The whole experience was unnerving.

"Well, yeah, I change under the full moon, but I can also change at will," she said. "But we're not here to talk about me."

"Yeah, what the hell happened?" I ask her. "How did I suddenly change? It was that injection, wasn't it?!"

"That injection is the only reason why I'm not dead right now," she says, looking me right in the eye. "I didn't cause you to change, it just _happened._"

"Things like this just don't happen!" I roar. I feel myself begin to lose control again, but remembering what I did to Angie before, I force myself to relax. "People just don't turn into monsters!"

"Plase, calm down," she says gently. She sits on her hind legs and looks up at me. "I'll explain everything. But I have to make it short. Mythical beings have existed forever, as long as humans have. But they decided that it would be best if they all went underground and disguised themselves as humans to escape persecution."

I tilt my head slightly to the side in confusion. "Why did they want to hide?"

"Because the humans were hunting them down to near extinction," Angie said sadly. "They had no choice. A sorcerer then cast a powerful spell over all the non-humans and turned them into humans. They could change back, of course. And the spell was also passed on to their children, so they were born human as well. The only way they could change back into their non-human form is if they went through a special magical rite. Once the rite was over, the children could change back and forth from human to non-human whenever they liked."

I nodded slowly. "Alright, I think I understand. But how did I suddenly change? I didn't go through any weird magical rite."

"That's the thing. The spell was only supposed to break if a non-human went through the rite. But after several generations and hundreds of years, the spell began to lose its power, and non-humans would suddenly change back to their natural form. Which is what happened to you."

My legs grew weak beneath me, and I tried to sit down. Instead, I ended up toppling over and landing on my side, crashing loudly against the ground.

"Ow," I grumbled.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just can't figure out how to move," I said frustratedly. "How am I supposed to walk with six legs?!"

"You're trying too hard," she explains softly. "Don't think about it, your body knows what to do. Just let it happen."

"I think I'm just going to stay here then," I said, pushing myself up so I was laying on my stomach. It was still weird having all of these extra body parts I wasn't supposed to have, but I was slowly getting used to it. But that didn't mean I liked it. "Can I change back now? I hate being like this."

Angie sits down in front of me. "I know you hate this, and I know this is going to be difficult, but this is you. This is who you were supposed to be. You never were human. This is your true form."

I feel a growl rise in the back of my throat. "No, you're wrong! I'm human! I'm not like this!"

Angie only shakes her head and looks at me pitifully. "I'm sorry, Logan. As much as the truth hurts, you're going to have to accept this sooner or later. And the sooner, the better."

"What if I don't want to accept this?! What if I just pretend this never happened and get on with my life?" I ask her fiercely.

Her expression doesn't change. "Logan, you can't keep it bottled up forever. Soon, it will come out, whether you like it or not. And I suggest you learn how to control your transformations. Change often, and own this new power of yours. You can't ignore this, Logan. If you don't change often enough . . . you can die."

I stare at her, in shock.

Noticing my reaction, she explains further. "It's just like if you don't get enough to eat, or drink. You begin to wither away. A part of who you are becomes lost, and eventually you will die from it. But just like anything else, if you transform on a regular basis, you will have nothing to worry about."

"But I . . . I can kill someone," I cringed. "I don't want to-"

"The potion I gave you is easy to come by, if you know where to look," Angie said. "You just take that, and you'll be harmless."

"I don't want to change back ever again," I said. I remember all too well the amount of pain I was in when I first changed. No sane person would put themselves through that torture again.

"First time is always the most painful," Angie nodded. "But it'll get easier over time. Soon, it'll come so naturally you don't even need to think about it. Now, it's going to take time and it won't be easy, but I have faith that you can do this."

I stare down at my hands, covered in thick scales with those deadly sharp claws. I didn't want to accept this, but I knew I had to trust Angie.

"Why did you help me?" I ask her suddenly. "And how did you know I was going to change?"

"I knew because a very good friend of mine can see into the future," Angie said. "He knew you were going to transform and asked me to help you. So I did."

"But . . . why?"

"Because the first time I changed, there was no one there to tell me what happened. I had no idea what was wrong with me, and I remember feeling so scared and hopeless. I did't want anyone to go through what I did," she said in a soft distant voice. Her large ears fell downwards against her head, clearly showing her sadness.

"And you were hurt," I said. She nodded.

"I was shot. My own father . . . was terrified seeing me as a monstrous wolf-creature, and he . . ."

"I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"No, I do. I hurt you just like your dad did. I'm sorry."

She nudged my shoulder. "It's ok, now. The potion's going to be wearing off soon, and you need to change back."

Thank God. I wanted nothing more than to be human again. But as I looked around the scene, I saw the shredded remains of my clothes. And if my clothes were there, on the floor and torn into millions of tiny pieces, then that meant . . .

"Ha, don't worry, I brought you some clothes," Angie said. "Although I should've told you to strip before you changed, but I doubt you would have, anyway." She changes back into her human form and rummages through the duffel bag and takes out a t-shirt, a pair of old, baggy jeans, and a pair of old sneakers. "I hope these fit."

"Why can you change with clothes?" I ask.

"Sorry, can't speak basilisk in my human form," she said. "Don't know what you just said. Here, take these, go behind that tree over there, and I'll talk you through the transformation, ok?"

Wait, so she could understand me in her wolf form but not her human? Jesus, this was way too complicated.

I grab the clothes with my teeth, and try to make myself walk behind a large oak. First I try moving one leg at a time. Front right leg, middle left leg, back right leg forward, then the opposite leg, just like an insect. I move forward jerkily and slowly, and even step on my own heels quite a bit. It's not easy at all. I can hear Angie snort with laughter behind me.

I finally make my way behind a tree and wait for Angie's instructions.

"Ok, what you need to do is simply just imagine your human self and just think about turning back! It's pretty simple," she called out.

Seemed easy enough. I closed my eyes and imagined my human form in my head. Tall, heavily built guy with shaggy light brown hair and green-grey eyes. Toned and muscular, perfect build for a wrestler or football player. As I imagine my old human self, I wish myself to turn back.

A warm tingling sensation spreads across my entire body. I can feel myself shrinking slightly, and I open my eyes, shocked at the unexpected transformation. But as soon as my concentration broke, whatever changes that had taken place were immediately undone. I growled. Ok, maybe not as easy as it seemed. I really needed to concentrate and focus on the change.

I closed my eyes again and willed my body to revert back to its human form. The same tingling sensation spreads through my body and I could feel the changes happen again. I begin to shrink and my spikes along my back and tail shrink back into my vertebrae. My tail is shortening and shrinking as well, but I try not to lose my focus. All that fills my head is my human shape, and thoughts on turning back into that.

My long snout is shortening. My jaws crack and shift loudly, making me grunt with discomfort. It's not painful at all, but very awkward and uncomfortable. Nothing at all like the transformation into this beast. My teeth are shrinking as well, and I can feel my horns slide back into my skull. It's exhausting work, but I press on.

And then comes the part I was dreading. My extra arms are shrinking away and shifting back inside of me. I crack open one eye and see my arms grow smaller and smaller until they are as big as little twigs, and then they shift into my stomach, disappearing from view. The sight of it is enough to make me vomit.

I am almost done. I'm back down to my normal size, and my legs have taken their proper shape, although still green and scaly. The scales vanish slowly and my clawed toes are replaced by normal soft pink fleshy ones. My hands, the first to change, are also the last. My thumb re-emerges from the sides of my hands and my middle finger separates into two, and soon, they are normal human hands again.

I look myself over. I am completely human again, and let out a sigh of relief. No tail, no arms, no horns or spikes. Finally. Normal again.

I pull on the spare clothes Angie gave me, and surprisingly they fit, although the pants were tighter than what I would have preferred. I notice my sweatshirt, the only thing that I was able to pull off my body before I changed. I pick it up and put it back on.

Angie is waiting for me and smiles when she sees me completely human again. "See? Easy!"

"It's disturbing, that's what it is," I mumbled. "And you know that potion? Is there anything that can permanently cure me?"

Angie bites her lip and shakes her head. "Unfortunately, no. That potion is the best thing we've got. There is no permanent cure. Look, I don't want to freak you out, but you have to know what this means now."

"That I can kill someone with a single glance?" I said bitterly. She nods slowly.

"But if you're careful, you have nothing to worry about," she says in hopes of trying to raise my spirits. "Just go out alone somewhere secluded and always keep that potion on hand."

I shake my head. "I still can't believe all of this," I said weakly. "I can't believe I'm . . . I'm a monster."

"I know," she says. "But trust me, you'll get used to it. You may end up even enjoying it. Just give it a chance, alright?"

I give her a single nod and stare back down at my hand. I concentrate my thoughts on it for a moment, and I feel my hand begin to tingle. Green scales cover my hand quickly, and black claws shoot out of my fingertips. I stop the change there and just look down at my hand. It was so surreal . . .

Angie gently takes my morphed hand in her own and runs her fingertips over my entire hand. She slides her fingers across it, feeling every scale. She then feels my claws, feels how sharp they are. A small smile crosses her face.

"You have to admit it's kind of cool," she said.

"I guess," I said. I pull my hand out of hers and will it to change back.

"And now you know you're not alone!" Angie says, starting to sound excited. "There's a school, Delphi High, that just for people like us! You can learn how to control your transformations and everything there, and the teachers are awesome! You can go there!"

"Angie, I appreciate your help, I really do, but I am not going to go to a different school," I reply coldly. The last thing I wanted to do was go somewhere full of other freaks like me. I didn't want to be reminded of what I was now.

"At least think about it," Angie pleads.

"The only thinking I want to do right now is forgetting any of this happened!" I said. I turn away and start walking off back to my car. I just want to go home. I want nothing more to do with this.

"LOGAN!" Angie cries out angrily. "If you turn your back on this, people will die because of you!"

I freeze. I slowly turn around and look her right in the eye. She's glaring back at me angrily. I hate her so much right now, because I know she's right.

"I know you're trying to help me," I say in a voice hardly louder than a whisper. "But I am not going to a different school. I'm not going to leave behind all my friends. I'll deal with this on my own."

Angie's expression softens and she relents. "Ok, I understand. I can't force you to go to Delphi. That's your decision. But before you go . . ." She reaches into her pocket and pulls something out. "I think you dropped this. It must have broken off when you transformed.

In her hand was a small silver necklace on a matching silver chain. It was my mother's, but I had completely forgotten I had worn it. I take it. "Thank you," I said.

"Are you religious?" she asks.

I hesitate for a moment. "I was baptised into Catholicism, if that's what you mean. I used to be devout when I was younger, but now . . . you get distracted from your faith." I debate about telling her the real reason why I'm not as devout as before. After all, she did tell me about her father. But, that's one secret I want to keep to myself.

She nods. "I know I can't force you to go to Delphi, but you can't do this on your own. You're going to need some help." She pulls out a folded sheet of paper and hands it to me. On it are three phone numbers. "The first number will hook you up with an alchemist who can make you that potion. It's not that expensive, so stock up on it. The second number is my own. If anything happens or if you just want to talk, call me."

I look at the last number. "And the third?"

"Delphi's. In case you change your mind," she said.

I nod. "Well . . . I guess I should thank you for all your help . . ."

"Of course. I really hope to see you again soon," Angie said.

I turn around and head back to my car. I just want to go home and think all of this over. In the last hour or so, I had learned that fantasy animals are real, turned into a basilisk, talked with a werewolf, and found oth there's a school just for . . . people like me.

_I need a drink,_ I thought to myself.

The drive back to my house is like a dream. I'm home before I know it, and stumble inside. I have heard stories about amputees that claim they can still feel their missing limbs, and right now, I still felt as if I had a really long tail and two arms sticking out of my sides. I have to look over myself continuously to make sure none of it's real.

My dad is still sitting on the couch, but has his laptop open and is typing. He looks up at me as I enter and smiles. I try to force myself to return it.

"So how was it?" he asks.

"It was . . . interesting," I said slowly. "I'm going upstairs and taking a nap. Please don't wake me up," I add. I then stumble up the stairs, into my room, and flop face-first onto my bed.

"I hate my life," I growled.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the weekend passes in a blur.

I don't remember doing anything else the rest of that Saturday, other than sitting in my room and mulling over what had happened. I did drift off to sleep for a few hours, and when I awoke, I had desperately hoped it had all been some cracked-up dream. But my greatest fears were confirmed when I looked down at my hand and vicious black claws sprouted from my fingertips when I willed them to. It hadn't been some sick, twisted dream. It was real.

I thought over what Angie said. A school for people like us. Delphi? More like the Special Institute for Monstery People. Hell no. I was never going to go there. As if I needed the constant reminder of what I was now.

I clutched the silver necklace with the cross pendant in my hand. The chain had snapped, but that was easy enough to fix, and I did so once I had gotten home. It was the only necklace I had ever worn. It was the last thing my mother gave me before she died.

Speaking of which . . .

It was her birthday in a few weeks.

I closed my eyes, letting out a low groan. It was the same every birthday; my father and I would go out to the graveyard and wish her a happy birthday, and then my dad would go out and drink every guy at the bar under the table. He always came home passed out, with his friends lugging him through the door and plopping him down on the sofa. I would then have to spend the next day helping him get over his hangover.

I tried to get him to stop, but he was a peculiar drunk; he was an incredibly sad drunk most of the time, but if provoked, he turned very violent very quickly. I stopped caring about him and his drinking habits long ago, harsh as that sounds. But sometimes I really can't blame him. He loved her unconditionally. And to lose someone so special was devastating.

But I had moved on. He still had to learn to let her go.

I slipped on my mother's necklace and headed downstairs to fix myself up some lunch. My father must have read my mind because he had already made grilled cheese sandwiches for the two of us. I forced a smile and took it, muttering a "thanks." He studied me silently as I ate my meal without much of a word, either.

"You're quiet today," he observed.

I shrugged. _Yeah, you'd be awfully quiet, too, if you found out you can turn into a monster._ "Nothing to talk about."

We eat in silence, and he eventually goes back to work on his computer. I just go back up to my room and lounge around.

I wasn't in the mood to do anything else.

Monday comes, and I go through the same routine as always for any other normal boring school day.

Only, I'm uneasy and nervous. Now that I have this animal inside of me, I'm paranoid about it coming out when I don't want it to. What if I suddenly turn in the middle of class? What if someone finds out my secret? I figured I could fight the change long enough to get myself to the nearest bathroom, but then what? Turn into a twenty-foot snake-lizard thing in the bathroom? What if there's someone else in the bathroom with me? All I can do is just hope I'll get lucky today.

My school isn't very far, so I usually walk. Today was no exception, with my dad taking our only car to work, and me not being old enough to even drive yet. It's a brisk day, but not too cold. I take my time, slowly thinking things over. I just had to remain calm and make sure I didn't do anything that could trigger a change. Angie told me the main things I had to worry about: Being in mortal danger, experiencing a very strong emotion, or just simply _thinking_ about changing. The first one I had no need to worry about. As much of a nightmare high school was I didn't have to worry about someone threatening my life. The second, not so much. Although I'm a pretty calm and composed person, I take on an entirely different personality on the football field. I become quite aggressive and angry, which is what my coaches have always taught us to do. Get mean, get vicious, be a . . . well, be a total animal. I knew I could not afford to get too worked up in practice today. And as for the third, like I would _ever_ willingly want to change.

I meet up with my best friend, Alex. We knew each other for practically as long as I can remember, and we've been friends for just as long. He was thin and kind of scrawny with black hair that never lay flat on his head. His small build prevented him from getting on the varsity football team with me, but he was one hell of a wrestler. He saw me in the halls, and gave me a quick wave. I managed a nod, but the bell rang to signal the start of classes. I hurried off to my first period class, and Alex went his own way. We didn't have class together until fourth period.

When fourth period finally rolls around, I'm about ready to collapse. It's like the school slowed down all of the clocks, and my paranoia has only been building. Alex notices how uncharacteristically grumpy I am behaving, and throws me a curious look.

"What's up?" he asks as he takes the desk next to mine. "You look down."

"I had a bit of a rough weekend," I said. I don't think I could tell him my secret either. Even though we're friends, Alex has been known to be the more . . . _boisterous_ type. I couldn't trust him to keep something this big a secret.

"Rough? We had practically nothing this weekend. You didn't even have a football game!" he said. I rolled my eyes. "Well . . . we did have that massive six-page English paper to do, but that wasn't so bad."

Wait . . . what? And then, I remember. We had a paper to do over the weekend. Due today. My eyes go wide. And Alex notices my reaction.

"Oh, God. Please don't tell me you-"

_"I completely forgot!"_ I say in a hushed whisper. English was next period. Shit, shit, shit.

"Just tell her you forgot it at home!" Alex said.

"She doesn't accept late papers!" I say. Now I'm really freaking out. I wasn't doing too hot in English to begin with, and this was going to definitely damage my current grade. Badly.

"Just ask her if you can bring it in like, really early next morning! Just something! At least ask for partial credit!" Alex is persistent. And right now, getting on my knees and begging to turn in my paper late was my only option. The bell rings, and I swallow hard as I set off for English class.

English teachers are total assholes.

I asked nicely. I tell her I forgot it and I just need to go home and give it to her tomorrow. I pretty much beg her to let me turn it in late and dock off points for turning it in late.

But she refused. And now I just got a zero on a big paper. I hate my life so much right now.

And if that wasn't enough, I still had this monster, this beast just underneath my skin to be worrying about. I had to get this off my chest. I needed to talk to someone about it. But I couldn't go to my dad; he'd never believe me. And if I did . . . show him, he'd freak out. No, I couldn't tell him. And not Alex. He would believe me, eventually, but I couldn't trust him to keep it secret. Who could I talk to? Maybe Angie? No . . .

The answer then came to me, literally. On my way to and from school, I have to pass by a church. I glance up at its towering steeples and marble steps, and I find myself thinking. I could go to confession and talk to the priest, and I could trust him to keep my secret. But I haven't been going to church for months. I stopped going regularly after my mother died. I had lost my faith, and refused to believe the Christian god I had worshipped was capable of such heartless things as taking an innocent woman from her loving family.

I stopped just outside the church doors, contemplating. Even though I had lost faith, I hadn't stopped believing altogether. And where else could I go? I shake my head, and step inside.

I approach one of the side rooms reserved for confessions, and I step inside. A screen separates me from the priest, and I get on my knees and make the sign of the cross over myself. "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It's been a very long time since my last confession." I let out a weak laugh.

"Logan, is that you?" the priest asks eagerly. "My, it has been a while! Welcome back, my son! So, what does bring you back again?"

I take a deep breath. There was no going back now. "I . . . I have to get something off my chest."

"I see." The priest's voice is now very serious, almost as if he could sense we were going to discuss something very personal. "Please, tell me everything." His voice is gentle, and comforting.

I pause, trying to think of the best way to phrase my concerns. "I . . . God, this is going to sound crazy. I hope I'm crazy. I can't believe it for myself . . . but the truth is that I recently found out I'm not even human." I wait, for a comment, a question, anything. But the priest is silent, so I go on. "Everything had been a lie. I found out I'm a monster and there's nothing I can do about it! And the worst part is that I'm . . . I'm incredibly dangerous. I can kill someone if I'm not careful. I'm terrified of myself, and what I am now. How can anyone accept a burden like this?" I take a deep breath. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to be like this, but I have to. I can't ignore this, but I don't want to accept the fact that I'm just a freak."

The priest lets out a soft chuckle. "So, I take it you have recently transformed into a non-human."

I jump. I had been waiting for the priest to call me crazy, for him to ask if I was taking any drugs, to ask me everything except that. It took me a few moments to compose myself. "Wait, are you a non-human, too?" I ask in a stunned voice.

"Me? No. But you are not the first non-human to come to me seeking guidance," he explained. I allow myself to relax. This was surprisingly going much smoother than I anticipated. "And I am very happy you came to me for help. This will be a very difficult and trying time for you, no doubt, but I am more than happy to help you however I can. But the first thing you must learn to do is to accept and embrace your true form. After that, everything else will be easy. Now, tell me, Logan, what non-human are you?"

I close my eyes. "I'm . . . I'm a basilisk."

Saying those three words out loud was a very strange thing. I was admitting I was a monster. _I am a basilisk._ Those simple three words resounded like a kell inside of my head.

The priest is silent for a second. "A basilisk?" He's surprised. I can hear the fear in his voice. "Pardon my shock but . . . I would have never thought."

"You're telling me," I grumble. "I don't want to be like this!"

His voice grows serious again. "A friend once told me 'We cannot choose who or what we are. We can only choose what we become.' You could not have stopped your transformation from happening. And now, you are a basilisk, however much you do not wish to be. And, as harsh as this may sound, there is nothing you can do about that. The only thing you can do now is to embrace this new power of yours. Accept it, and learn to control this. And remember, God is always with you."

I close my eyes for a moment, and stand. "Thank you for talking to me. I have to get going," I said quietly.

"Of course. Come back whenever you need to talk again. Your secret is safe with me."

I leave the church and continue on my way. So there really is no going back. But I don't want to accept this. I don't want to be a monster. I just want to be human. But his warning, and Angie's, still ring in my head, and with a heavy heart, I know they are right. I have to accept this. Sooner or later.

And, if I'm a basilisk, I should probably get myself some of that potion. When I get home, I pull out the phone numbers Angie gave me and dial it on my cellphone. It rings a few times before someone picks up.

"Laverne's Antique Shop, how may I help ya?" a female voice with a heavy southern accent says.

_Antique shop?_ I thought. _Must be a cover-up._ "Um, hi, do you sell any . . . er, potions?" I feel stupid just asking it.

"I do have a fine selection of brandy-" the woman says.

I smack my hands over my eyes. "Not that kind of potions! I mean magic potions!"

"What 'choo smokin', boy?"

If this was some lame joke Angie set me up for, I'm going to kill her. "Look, never mind. Can you just give me the address to your shop and I'll come by tomorrow?"

"Sure thing!" She pronounces thing like thang. "Gotta pen handy?"

I reach for oe of my notebooks and grab a pencil. "Yeah, go ahead." She rattles off the address, and I nearly drop my phone. "Your shop is _where?!"_

I consider the pretty large town I live in to be fairly pleasant, with a few exceptions of course. One of those exceptions was the northern-most district of our town, which was a very shady and downright dirty place. Many people from the other parts of town usually didn't visit there, which is why I found myself wondering why I was standing in the middle of a cracked street, staring at a tiny little shack of a place barely standing upright with its quickly decaying brick walls.

Oh yeah, that's right. This is the only place I can ge that special potion so I don't kill anyone.

I force myself to enter the building. I'm not an easy guy to scare, but this was just a plain old creepy place. And I didn't like it. I push open the filthy glass doors, and heara windchime tinlke as I enter.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I ask. I glance around. The inside was a total mess. Tables and shelves filled with all sorts of weird stuff were scattered all over the place. Strange lamps and dripping candles hung from the ceiling, giving the place a very musky smell. There's a few things that catch my attention, like a large crystal ball as big as a grapefruit and an old astronomy book. Pieces of paper are littered around the place as well. Ugh, I was beginning to wonder if this was a good idea.

I hear someone come up behind me. HAnds grasp onto my shoulder and I nearly jump out of my skin. "So nice to see you! I have been waitin' for ya!"

Wait, that voice. It was the shop owner. I spin around and find myself face-to-face with a tall, built African-American wman with pitch-black hair and incredibly dark eyes. The white ot her eyes almost seems to glow against her darkskin and eyes. Her clothing catches my attention; bright fabrics and sashes cover her body, and several large beeded necklaces drape around her neck and shoulder. Her fingers are also covered in gaudy rings. She looked like a gypsy.

She lifts up my chin and stares intently into my eyes. Now she's really starting to creep me out. "I can sense the beast within! Basilisk! King of serpents!"

"How did you know that?!" I blurt out.

"Laverne knows her stuff, suga'! I knew eva since ya called! Been waitin' for ya! I ain't neva seen a basilisk in person! Rare creatures, they are!"

"Wonderful," I mutter. "Um, do you have a . . . that potion that . . ."

"The Isidore potion, I believe is what you're referrin' to! The only thing that can thwart the basilisk's deadly gaze!" she says excitedly. Almost too excitedly for my liking. "I can whip it up for ya in a jiffy!"

She runs off into the back of her shop, and I make my way around the vast array of crap in my way to try to follow her. She goes into a back room, and I enter to see what looked like a storage room. She pulls out a burner, a stand, a small pot, and a few assorted ingredients. Lighting the burner, she places the pot on the stand and throws something into the pot. Upon closer inspection, I found the label said Ground Eye of Newt.

_"Eyeballs?!"_ I exclaim. "That potion is made of lizard _eyeballs?!"_

"Eye of newt is a very powerful magic substance!" Laverne explains in her same peppy, excited voice. "It is used in almost every potion!" She dashes a few more things into the pot as well; an acid-green gelitin blob, a large piece of tree bark, and what looked like cat hair. I can only stand there stupidly as Laverne feverishly throws all this . . . _stuff_ into the pot.

After a few minutes of boiling and stirring, the mixture turns into a watery substance with a very nice light-blue color. Laverne nods in approval and pours out the contents into a vile.

"Awright, you listen here, boy," she said. "You must inject yourself with 50 miligrams of this stuff before you change. That will last you twenty minutes. Now, even if you take 100 miligrams at one time, it will still only last twenty minutes, so it's important you take only fifty so you waste none. Got it?" I nod. "Good boy! You can inject yourself with more after twenty minutes to give yourself more time, but you shouldn't need any longer than that. Any questions? Do you know how to prepare a syringe?"

_This is way too crazy to believe,_ I thought. _I'm going to be injecting myself with ground up lizard eyes and boiled cat hair. How lovely._ "Yeah, I know, just . . . how much?"

"Fifteen dollars!" she says. "And since I'm nice, I'll give you a syringe for free!"

She leads me over to the front desk and pulls out a perfectly new and clean syringe and hands it to me gently. I take it and, with the same amount of care, I place it in my backpack.

"I'll be seeing you soon, boy!" she says.

"You'll be lucky if you see me within the next three months," I growl.

"See you soon, then!"

"Crazy psycho voodoo lady," I mutter under my breath as I walk out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Weeks passed since the incident. I try not to think about it too much, but those first few days after my transformation were difficult. I was still as tightly wound as a spring ready to snap with anxiety and fear. And it did not escape the attention of my friends and coach. Alex still kept pestering me and asking why I looked so grouchy and moody, but I kept telling him off with the usual bullcrap answers like tests and too much homework. My football coach also noticed I wasn't being as aggressive as I normally was and sharply told me if I didn't get my act together, he wouldn't play me in the next game. I had no choice but to push myself just as hard as ever and cross my fingers that nothing would happen.

But, very slowly, I began to relax. I realized keeping my monster side under control was pretty easy; I just had to pretend it wasn't there.

So I went on with my life as though nothing was wrong, and after a week or two, I began feeling right back to my old self again. And Alex was the first to notice I wasn't being as depressed as I have been. I began feeling pretty confident, too. Maybe I really didn't need to change. It had been four weeks now since the incident, and I didn't feel any different than normal. I was perfectly fine. And the thought of not having to turn into that monster again made me smile.

And on one particular day, I was cleaning out my duffel bag, and spotted th Isidore potion and the syringe Laverne had given me. I cautiously glanced at it for a second, thinking about what she had said. I also remember what Angie and the pastor said to me. _Embrace it. Accept it._

I didn't want to. I couldn't. How could anyone accept something like this? I couldn't bring myself to do it. Regardless, I kept the potion in my bag, safely stowed away in an inside pocket. Just in case.

Angie shoved her books inside of her locker and pulled out her backpack, ready to go home after another long day at school. She paused as a familiar scent caught her attention, and then let a small smile play across her lips.

"Hello, Jason," she said without even turning around.

"Aw, I can't even sneak up on you, can I?" he pouted. Jason was Angie's best friend, and also the one who introduced her to Delphi. Unlike Angie, he knew full well of his non-human form ever since he was an infant. And he happened to be a selkie. Right now, he had his seal pelt draped around his shoulders like a sweatshirt, and Angie had always questioned his sanity for that.

"I'm a werewolf, I can smell your fish breath a mile away," Angie retorted.

"I _do not_ have fish breath," he said in a playfully pouty voice.

"You swim in the ocean and eat raw fish for fun."

"Because they're delicious!"

"You have fish breath."

"Why are you making fun of me?" he whined. He then smiled and swung his lanky arm around Angie's shoulder. "So when do I get to meet your basilisk boyfriend?"

"Not my boyfriend," she growled. "And you'll meet him soon enough, just as soon as he accepts the offer."

"Still? Ugh, but it's been weeks!" Jason complained. "I want to meet him! I've never seen a basilisk before! They're super-rare!"

"You'll meet him soon enough, now hush," Angie said.

"You really think he'll come here?" he said.

"I'm sure of it!" Angie said confidently. "He just needs time to think over it, is all."

I don't remember exactly how many days had passed between my first transformation and _that_ day. On _that_ day, I was working out in the school's weight room with Alex after classes had finished. I remeber I was really pushing my limit on that day, too. I was doing well over my normal routine, and I was getting a good sweat going. But I was determined. Football season was closing in on the play-offs, and I had to be in the best shape I could be.

I finished a set of curls, and headed over to the bench press. "Hey, Alex, can you spot me on the bench press?"

"Sure," he said. "But didn't you do those earlier?"

I shrugged. "I'm just going to do a few power lifts and see how much I can do." I helped him set up the weights, and, feeling a little ambitious, I put two hundred pounds on the bar.

"Two hundred?" Alex asked. "You've never done that much before."

"I think that's kind of the point," I said with a small laugh. I gripped the bar tightly in my hands, and with a heave, I pushed it off the stands and lowered the bar down to my chest. I clench my teeth tightly and summon every ounce of strength I have in me to push that bar up as high as I can.

"One," I grunted. Just two more to go. But already my arms were screaming with protest, but I kept pushing. I lowered the bar again, and with tremendous effort, I raise it again. "Two." My arms are really hurting now, but I can't give up. I force myself to keep going, to keep pushing. My strength wavers. I need just a little bit more. I dig real deep and let out a loud groan and push the bar the third and final time.

**_SNAP!_**/strong

I almost drop the bar in horror. I heard my hand sickeningly crack and felt a wave of pain shoot through my hand. I stare up at my right hand, and saw green scales begin to form across the back of it. I felt the pain continue to grow, and the scales began to spread.

_Shit! Not now!_ I screamed in my head.

Alex puts the bar back on the stand with a bewildered look. "Whoa! Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?!" I say. I sit up abruptly and shield my hand away from him. "I didn't hear anything!" I try to act normal, but my voice betrays my inner terror. I jump off the bench and grab my duffel bag, and literally sprint out the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Alex calls after me.

"I-I just remembered my dad wanted me home early!" I shout back at him. "I'll see you tommorrow! Really gotta go, bye!" And then I take off. I'm sprinting at full speed out of the school and through the streets, desperately looking for a place to hide. I was transforming. And I couldn't stop it.

Alex stared, confused, at Logan run out of the room like he had seen a ghost. Well, Logan had been acting pretty weird lately, and exactly why was anyone's guess. Alex shook his head and moved on with his work-out.

Wait . . . was that Logan's backpack over in the corner? Alex slapped his hand over his eyes. Sure, the guy remembers his bag filled with spare changes of clothes and deodorant but forgets his books. Alex grabbed Logan's backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Now the only question is where in the heck he went.

I couldn't stop the scales from spreading.

I tried to stop my transformation, but nothing was working. The swamp-green scales have now completely covered my hand and were working their way along my entire forearm. I gave up trying to stop it, and instead focused my efforts on trying to find somewhere safe. I had ran non-stop and was now in the heart of an older section of the town, with plenty of old, run-down, and empty places to spare. But I needed to find one that would be big enough to hide a giant lizard and was also well off the beaten path. I snaked my way through alleys and streets until I found a large warehouse with all its windows and doors boarded up tight. Good enough.

I look down at my right hand, now covered in scales all the way up to mid-forearm, and sharp black claws instead of nails. I raise my hand, form a fist, and punch straight through the boarded-up door. The door is shattered into splinters, and I subconsciously marvel at my superior strength, no doubt due to the basilisk. I run inside, being careful not to fall over any equipment littering the floor, and rummage through my duffel bag for the potion. I feel my fingers clamp around the cold slick surface of the vile, and I pull it out.

Another firey blast of pain shoots through my legs, and I trip, sending the glass vile flying into the air. I land hard on the ground, and look up in time to see the vile falling . . .

I can't do anything but watch helplessly as the vile crashes and shatters into a million pieces.

"NO!" I scream. I clambered to my feet and run over to the vile. The potion was already being absorbed into the dust and floor. Gone. All of it. "Damn it! God damn it!" I swear loudly. But not all was lost. I was in an abandoned building, no one was around, and there were no reflective surfaces so I couldn't inadvertently kill myself. I would be alright long enough to change and then change back-

"Logan? Are you in here?"

I whip around. "ALEX?!" I practically screetch. "What the hell are you doing here?!" I hide my mutated arm behind my back, but I'm sure I hadn't been fast enough. Alex's expression tells me that much.

"You-you forgot your backpack," he says weakly. "What's wrong with your arm?"

Pain rips across my back, and I clench my teeth tightly. I had to get him out of here! Before it was too late! I feel the transformation accelerating and spreading across my entire body.

_"GET OUT OF HERE!"_ I roar. Yes, _roar._ My voice isn't the same; even that has changed into a low, gutteral animal-like growl. I advance on him, and he backs away, completely terrified.

"Logan, what-" he stutters, but I interrupt him.

_"GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!"_ I yell. The pain in my spine intensifies, forcing me to double over. My arms wrap around my mid-section, and now, Alex can clearly see my scaly arm. I can hear him yelp with surprise. But I cannot bring myself to focus on him. I groan with pain, and feel the spikes in my back begin to poke through my skin.

"What-what's happening?" Alex cries out.

I let out a loud roar of pain, and the spikes shoot out of my spine. Alex jumps and nearly trips over his own feet.

"Jesus Christ, Logan, what the hell is going on?!" he shouts.

_"I'll . . . explain everything . . . later,"_ I growl. I feel my left arm crack and shift, and scales spread across my arm. "But you have to get out of here! Just run, Alex!"

"Logan-" he says.

_"I CAN'T STOP IT! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"_ I roar at the top of my lungs. _"JUST RUN!"_

He spins on his heel, and takes off. He is scared out of his mind, and I feel horrible for scaring him so badly. But it's for his own good. He has to stay away from me.

I could kill him.

Alex was scared shitless.

What the hell was going on?! What was happening to Logan?! What _is_ he?

Alex stopped running, and turned back around and stared at the warehouse Logan was in. It was impossible, but it was as if Logan was _changing._ And changing into _what?_

It wasn't possible, but Alex knew what he saw. Logan was changing into some sort of creature. What, Alex had no idea, but he was sure of one thing.

Logan was scared out of his mind, too. And he was in a tremendous amount of pain. Whatever was happening to him, he sure as hell wasn't enjoing it.

Alex frowned. What was he doing, running away? Logan needed him. He couldn't just abandon his oldest and best friend. Not now. Not when he was scared and in pain. Alex needed to help him, whatever was happening to him.

With determination, Alex ran back to the warehouse. He couldn't abandon Logan.

The changes happened much faster than the first time, but the pain was still excruciating. I tried to relax and just let the changes happen, but it was very difficult to calm my mind while feeling as if you're insides are being mutilated. My tail exploded from the base of my spine and curled around me, and I felt my hands shape into large clawed paws. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, which were now sharp fangs. My body snapped and twisted, and all I could do was sit there and cry out with pain with every change that happened.

It was all over in a matter of minutes, and I let out a long and painful roar as the final changes took place. I stared down at my scaly front legs, and all over my morphed body. I hated being like this. I hated being this _thing!_ I was never going to get used to this, and I especially wasn't going to get used to having six legs!

And now . . . I had Alex to worry about. I was going to have to tell him what I am. I closed my eyes. Could this day possibly get any worse?

Alex had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep from screaming. Because when he went back inside the warehouse, he didn't see Logan.

He saw an enormous lizard with six legs and covered in sharp spikes.

No way. That was Logan?! Alex couldn't believe it. But he had to. The lizard in the warehouse was the exact same color as the scales that had started growing all over Logan's arms.

_Come on, Alex, giant freaky lizard or not, that's still you're friend,_ Alex thought to himself. _Logan's still in there._

Mustering up as much courage as he could, Alex stepped out of his hiding place. His foot stepped on a piece of glass, and it crunched loudly, catching Logan's attention.

He whipped around and stared at Alex with his giant yellow eyes.

And then, everything went black.

I heard a weird crunching noise behind me, and before I even knew what I was doing, I turned around and saw Alex just standing there. My heart stopped dead as I stared straight into his eyes. I couldn't make myself pull away. I tried to look away, to even just blink, but I froze up. None of us moved. He stared straight back at me, with his jaw slack. It was like time just stopped, and we were locked in an unbreakable gaze.

Alex's eyes fluttered close, and he fell limply to the ground.

He didn't move.

"A-Alex?" I whispered in my basilisk voice. He didn't respond. I walked up to his side. His eyes were closed. I nudged him with my snout. "Come on, Alex, get up!" No response. I then grabbed his shirt in my teeth and pulled him upright. "This isn't funny! Alex, wake up! WAKE UP!" My eyes stung with tears. "Alex, please! You have to get up! Please, no!"

But I knew the truth. Alex would never wake up.

He was dead. I had killed him.

I crumpled to the ground and pulled his body close to mine. I felt the tears come, and I couldn't stop them.

I killed him! I _killed_ him! It was all my fault! I killed Alex! All because I was a goddamned monster! I was a fucking monster!

I felt an uncontrollable rage build inside of me. I hate myself for what I did. I hate myself because I'm nothing more than a murderous freak. I can't stand myself.

I let out a roar of anguish, and I start clawing at myself, at my alien body. I hate myself. I hate everything about the monster that I am.

I feel pain explode in my skull as my sharp claws dug into the soft tissue of my eyes, but I don't care. The pain I am feeling inside blocks all the physical pain of my claws tearing at my scaly hide. As they claw out my eyes.

My eyes. My goddamn eyes.

Alex is dead because of them.

With another roar of fury, I savagely claw at them, ripping them out. I feel the blood pour down my face.

But I don't care.

All the while, four words echo in my head. Like a tormenting demon.

_I am a monster._

I am a monster.

I am a monster.

Monster . . .i


	5. Chapter 5

Kim stared broodily out the car window, her cheek cupped in her hand. The buildings whizzed by in a blur, and she hardly blinked. First week on patrol and nothing going on, not even a damn speeding ticket.

Her partner, Evan, chuckled as he turned another corner. "Having fun on your first week on patrol, newbie?"

"It's boring as hell," Kim said glumly. She fidgeted with her almost unnaturally yellow hair to keep it pinned back up in its bun.

"What were you expecting, something straight out of _NCIS_ or _Cops?_" Evan teased her.

"I don't know, but something a little more exciting than _this,_" she said, gesturing out the window.

"We do have a pretty important mission, you know, being in Sector 77 of the police division," he said, puffing out his chest proudly. "Our mission is to-"

"To protect the secrecy of non-humans everywhere, yeah, got that," she said boringly. She smirked. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't know that. I guess I wish it was just a bit more exciting, you know?"

She glanced back out the window, and saw a ghostly reflection of herself in the glass. Her incredibly yellow eyes stared straight back at her. The unnatural color was no doubt due to her non-human form; no human could have natural yellow eyes. So for the most part, she wore blue contacts to disguise them, but she hated wearing contacts. She never wore them when she was out patrolling, it became too bothersome. She wondered what color her eyes would have been if she wasn't a non-human.

Kim was instantly dragged out of her day-dreaming when she heard a thunderous roar rip through the air. She sat up, instantly on alert. Even though they were in a car and traveling at an incredible twenty miles an hour, she could still hear it, clear as crystal. No doubt another side-affect from being a non-human. Evan had heard it as well, and slammed on the brakes.

"What the hell was that?" Kim whispered.

"That's the sound of you getting your wish," Evan said, hopping out of the car. Kim followed him. They could still hear a low guttural animal-like growl, but it was much fainter. It continued to fade until it was barely audible, even to Kim's sensitive ears.

But Evan pin-pointed the source of the sound and rushed over to an old and abandoned warehouse, which had been boarded up long ago. As Kim approached it, she could clearly see that the front door had been smashed open.

"Whatever did that is incredibly big and strong," Evan muttered. "Let's use caution while approaching the place." He ran to the side of the building and pressed up against its side and crept closer to the open doorway. He took out a small pocket mirror to see inside.

"What can you see?" Kim said.

Evan was silent for a second, twisting the mirror around to see inside, but he finally stopped and began to blush furiously.

"Um, well . . . he's a newly-turned . . . um, teenager, maybe 15 or 16 years old . . ." Evan said uneasily. "Er, why don't you go to the car and get a blanket?

Kim laughed. "Newly-turned" was just a fancy way of saying that the person in question had lost their articles of clothing. "Just how badly does he need that blanket?" she asked mischievously.

"Just get it," Evan said in an irritated voice. She shrugged.

"Have it your way."

Evan put the mirror away and stepped over the threshold. In the faint light and dust, he could see a boy in his mid-teens, lying on his side and facing away from him. "Hello? Can you hear me? This is the police!"

The boy didn't move. _Must be unconscious,_ Evan thought. He stepped closer, and noticed his hands were coated in blood. Evan started to grow concerned. Transformations were painful, yes, but it was exceptionally rare for someone to _bleed_. Unless he cut himself on accident when he changed.

"Hey, kid, are you ok?" Evan said, and turned the kid over on his back.

He nearly screamed.

His eyes were gone. His entire face was covered in blood, and his eye sockets were filled with the completely destroyed soft tissues of the eyes. Long, terrible claw-marks covered his entire face and even over his chest and arms. The kid shook weakly, and he began to cry.

"I . . . I killed him . . . "

I remember everything going black. I think I might have passed out for a moment or two, but when I regained conscious, everything was still dark. I could hear voices, very faint and barely audible to my ears. The words were jumbled and slurred and I could hardly make heads or tails of what the speaker was saying. I could feel more than hear a man make his way over to me. He was saying something, but I couldn't make it out. I heard something that sounded like "police," but that was it. I then felt a hand gently grab my shoulders and lay me on my back. That's when I finally began to lose it all over again.

"I . . . I killed him . . ." I whispered. My voice was dried and cracked, and I barely had any energy left. Regardless, I didn't give up. "I killed him!" I said again, this time more strongly. I rose to my knees, reached out blindly and grabbed the man's shirt and clung to him for dear life. "I killed him! I told him to run, but he wouldn't listen to me! _I killed him!_"

I slumped against whoever it was, and shook with racking sobs. I could still feel the blood all over my face, and I raised a hand up to wipe the blood out of my eyes-

_My eyes._

They were gone.

I trembled with another terrible memory. I had destroyed them. I clawed out my own eyes to escape the pain of murdering my closest friend. I ran my hands across my face, feeling every single gash I had made with my razor-like claws. I don't regret it. I had to be punished for the horrible things I did. I was blind. And I deserved that fate.

The man did not pull away from me, but instead comforted me. "It's alright, we're going to get you some help," he said softly. "And you're secret is safe, I'm a non-human, too."

For some reason, I didn't feel relieved. He could have been a human for all I cared. I heard someone else enter the building, and I heard her gasp with shock. She then immediately ran to my side and draped something very warm around my naked body.

"Oh my god, the poor kid," the woman said. "Evan, we have to call an ambulance!"

"Not yet, we have a dead body here," the man, Evan, said quietly. The woman was silent for a moment, and in that time, I knew they had spotted Alex's body.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I tried to tell him to run, bu he didn't listen to me! I killed him and it's all my fault!"

"I'm guessing you are a basilisk," Evan said. "The footprints in the dust are more than clear enough."

"And over there, there's a broken syringe," the woman said. I could hear her stand and walk away. There was a moment's pause before she spoke. "Isidore potion. Definitely a basilisk."

"Then this isn't your first time turning, is it?" Evan asked.

"No," I said hoarsely.

"When did you first turn?"

"A-a few weeks ago," I muttered.

"He's not registered," the woman said suddenly. "He should be. He's a Class 5."

I had no idea what they were talking about, but I find that I don't care anymore. All I can remember is Alex's body. The last thing I ever saw before everything went black.

"Whatever the case, we need to call in Davis. This is his area of specialty."

The woman let out a very animal-like growl. "Ugh, not Davis," she snarled.

"Hey, I know you don't like him, but Davis is the only one to handle something like this. Just try to be nice to him."

"When Hell freezes over," the woman growled.

"In the meantime, get the poor kid some bandages and some painkillers. That doesn't look pleasant."

I nodded weakly. My entire head was still screaming with pain, especially where my eyes should be. Closing my eyes felt incredibly strange; there was nothing pressing against them and they just fell loosely. It was unnerving, but it was something I knew I had to get used to. A few minutes later, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and the woman carefully washing off my blood-covered face with ice-cold water. I flinched, but let her help me. She tried her best to be gentle with cleaning my wounds, but at times the scratches would sting and I would let out a small hiss of discomfort. She was always quick to apologize.

"What's your name?" she asked, attempting to make small talk.

"Logan Green," I said. I gritted my teeth as she placed gauze over my empty eyes and secured it with bandages wrapped around my head.

"That's a nice name. I'm Kimberly. And I'm a gargoyle," she said.

"Just like in that one Disney show?" I asked, and tried to muster up a laugh. But all that came out was a very strange gargling noise. Kim let out a soft laugh in reply.

"Not exactly. We do look a little similar, except we don't fly around in loin cloths and we don't turn to stone during the day," she said.

I smiled, and instantly my cheeks felt like they had been stabbed with a thousand knives. Clamping my hand to my face, I felt a particularly deep gash cross all the way from my left temple, across my nose, and cutting across my lip, ending where my jawline was.

"You really did a number on yourself," she muttered as she continued to clean me up.

"I deserved it. I killed him," I said bitterly.

I could tell Kim was about to say something in reply, but she was interrupted by the arrival of a third person. I could distinctly hear him walk into the building, and right away I could tell this person was not a happy guy. I don't know how I knew that, but I could just sense it.

"Oh, I just love seeing you freaks on my day off. What's fucked up this time?" the new arrival said. Definitely not a happy guy. There was a second's pause, and then. "God damn it, a _murder?!_ Son of a bitch."

"Davis, from what we can tell, it was an accident," Evan said. "This kid here is a basilisk. He turned, and the other kid was just in the wrong place at the worst time."

I heard footsteps coming towards me. "Is this the freak?" the man named Davis said.

"Nice to see you, too. I'm doing well, thank you for asking," Kim said in a venomously sarcastic voice.

"What else do we know about him?" Davis said, as if I wasn't sitting there right in front of him.

"Found some ID. His name is Logan Green. Student at Derion High. He claims this is his second time turning. He's not registered yet. Clean record through and through, never hurt a fly in his life."

"Until now," Davis muttered.

I felt a hand slide under my chin and lift my head up roughly. I winced as Davis's hand-I would presume- grazed over my wounds.

"Is he one of Handcock's?" Davis asked.

"Not that we know of," Kim said.

"Who's Handcock?" I asked weakly. Davis ignored me.

"Ok, listen up. Here's what happened. These two kids were screwing around the area, and one of the old buildings collapsed on the kid, killing him. And debris landed in his eyes and blinded him," Davis said. "Any questions? Good. I'm out. You monsters are more trouble than you're worth."

"Excuse me?!" Kim said viciously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do I need to repeat myself?" Davis asked sarcastically. "After all your boasting about how better your senses are than humans'."

"_Guys . . ._" Evan whined.

"I'm just saying if I were in charge, that animal would be in jail for first-degree murder and to hell with your fucking secret!" Davis said. I hung my head, knowing he was right. I should be in jail for what I did. I'm nothing but a freak and a monster. As harsh as Davis's words are, I believe every bad thing he says about me to be true.

"You can't accuse him of murder! It was an accident! We found the Isidore potion on the scene! He didn't mean for this to happen! It was a horrible accident and nothing more!" Kim shouted.

"Oh, so we should just let him go because he didn't mean it?" Davis challenged.

"The kid blinded himself in his grief! I'd say that's punishment enough!" Kim said.

"You non-humans are all the same! God, no wonder the world's a mess right now. You all should have died in that damned war. Sure as hell would have saved me a whole lot of trouble."

_And if non-humans were all dead, I would have never been born and Alex wouldn't be dead._ I thought angrily.

I hear a loud cracking noise, and a little bit of shuffling around before I heard the unmistakable boom of someone being slammed into a wall. I sat up straight, startled by the sudden commotion.

**_"It's because of people like you why we can't even show our faces! We have to hide, all because of you and your kind!"_** Kim screeched. Although I knew it was Kim, her voice sounded different. It was deeper, more guttural, and almost every word was said with a deep growl or snarl. She must have transformed into her non-human form, I thought.

**_"Kim, that is enough!"_** I heard someone else say. It was only through the power of elimination I was able to even conclude that the speaker was Evan. His new voice in no way whatsoever resembled his human voice, he too must have turned into a non-human, but what he was exactly was beyond me. His voice seemed omniscient, like it was coming from everywhere at once. It was also much more musical and deep, like he was singing every word he said. And there was an unusual chitter in his voice, as if a songbird was singing along with him. At this point I was almost sure it had to be someone else, but I didn't hear anyone else come in. **_"You cannot afford to lose your temper! You know better! Do not let Davis's ignorant words get to you. He is a human, and will never understand. Keep your chin up and do not worry about him."_**

I tugged at the blanket around my body. I started to feel cold, and a wave of exhaustion threatened to pull me off to sleep. I tried to stay awake, but an invisible hand kept pulling me off to blissful sleep. I can faintly hear the three adults talk some more, and one of the comments catch my attention.

"I'm calling the Boss. He's going to want to know about this."

It wasn't so much just those words, but how they were said. Davis's angry and tense voice suddenly turned to one of reverence and fear when he spoke that. It was the same tone one would use when talking about a fallen comrade. And that made my blood freeze.

"I hope _he_ isn't too hard on the kid," I heard Kim mutter. She too used that same tone, heavily emphasizing "he." Whoever they were talking about was someone to be feared and respected.

"That's not for us to worry about," I heard Evan said, and I felt myself drift off into the unconscious.

I was in the middle of a dream. Or something like that. I was standing in the middle of a bleached-white room with infinite light. There was nothing distinguishing about the room at all; I couldn't tell how big it was, where the walls were, or if I was even just in a room. All that surrounded me was white.

I looked down at myself, noticing I had my usual jeans and T-shirt on. So if I'm wearing clothes, and I can see, then this must be a dream. Either that, or I'm dead.

_"No, you are neither dead nor dreaming,"_ a whispery voice, as light as air, said. I turned around. _"We are where the world as we know it ends, and where the world beyond our own begins."_

The speaker was a man in a very professional and crisp suit, but he had no face. His entire head was as white as the room, save for his softly glowing eyes, and a strange swirling marking that covered the right side of its scalp. The tattoo, or whatever it was, moved and flowed like water, and it shifted colors in various shades of blue. I took a hesitant step backwards, but the strange man went on.

_"You are in the deepest level of the unconscious, where space, time, and reality do not exist. Here, we are free from the laws of the physical world."_

"Who are you?" I asked him.

_"I cannot tell you who I am. Only what I am,"_ the man said. _"I am the guardian of all non-humans. I watch over them and ensure our secret is safe from man kind. I have no name, but many refer to me simply as 'Boss.' "_

_So this is who they were talking about,_ I thought. _But who is this person, exactly?_

_"But let us continue our conversation in our natural forms,"_ he said. He then spread his arms wide, and as smoothly as a running river, his body began to shift and twist. The blue markings now spread so they covered every inch of him, and he began to transform into a very large creature. Large wings formed from his shoulders, and a tail snaked from behind him. The transformation took mere seconds, and I was no longer looking at a man, but a colossal blue dragon. He was still covered in those strange blue markings, but now they were on his legs instead of his head. The dragon reached out a long, clawed finger at me and tapped my forehead.

_"Why don't you join me?"_ he said.

"What?!" I gasped. But it was too late. I could feel my entire body begin to shift and change. I stared down at my hands as they quickly changed into scaly paws, and in a few more seconds, the green scales had entirely covered my body. "Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" I pleaded. "I'm a-!"

_"I know what you are, Logan,"_ the dragon interrupted. _"Your deadly gaze has no power here."_

I could feel my tail begin to grow, and my extra set of arms begin to poke out of my sides. Miraculously, it didn't hurt a single bit. It felt . . . natural. Soon, my spine and hips snapped into place and I was forced onto all six of my legs. I hardly felt anything as my jaws lengthened into a snout and as my horns poked out of my head. Finished, I stared down at myself, and I could feel my anger begin to grow. I hated this form! It's because of this thing that Alex is dead!

_"Now, we can talk non-human to non-human,"_ the dragon said in his airy voice. _"We have much to discuss, Logan."_

"Why can't we talk as humans?!" I demand furiously. "Change me back, I don't want to be this monster!"

**_"AND THIS IS THE VERY REASON WHY YOUR FRIEND IS DEAD! BECAUSE OF YOU!"_** the dragon roared. I stumbled backwards, and cower away, terrified of his sudden outburst. **_"YOU WERE WARNED, BUT YOU IGNORED IT! ANGELA WARNED YOU TO CHANGE OFTEN TO AVOID LOSING CONTROL LIKE THIS, BUT YOU REFUSED TO LISTEN! YOU DIDN'T TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS! YOU REFUSED TO SEEK HELP! YOU REFUSED TO LEARN HOW TO CONTROL YOURSELF! AND IT WAS YOUR BEST FRIEND WHO HAD TO SUFFER AND LOSE HIS LIFE BECAUSE OF YOUR STUBBORNNESS! YOU KILLED HIM, LOGAN! AND THE ONLY ONE HERE TO BLAME IS YOU! AND YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED IT!"_**

I stare up at the dragon, shaking with fear and grief. I lower my head, and stare down at myself. He was right. Everything was my fault. I can't stop myself from shaking with self-loathing and grief.

_"You leave me with no choice, Logan. You need treatment,"_ he growls.

"Treatment?" I stutter. "What do you mean?

_"I'm talking about getting yourself some proper help,"_ the dragon hisses. _"You are to attend Delphi high School. There, you will get the proper help you need. This is not an option."_ He turned, and began to walk away. _"I will be watching you. Do not disappoint me."_

"Hey, wait!" I said, scrambling back up to my feet. "Where are you going? How do I get back? Where the hell is Delphi?!"

I can hear very faint voices in the background. I chase after the dragon, hoping he can answer my questions, but he's so far away. The more I run towards him, the further and further he is. The white starts to fade into black, and I can feel myself slip from this dream.

I can feel myself falling, but I'm desperate for answers.

"ANSWER ME, YOU STUPID DRAGON!" I shout. I feel myself jerk upright, and I hear a couple of people nearby gasp. Everything was black, but I have the same feeling I do every morning when I wake up. It had all been in my head. And now I was here, wherever here was. I quickly took in my surroundings. The smell of rubbing alcohol and the presence of a needle in my arm immediately told me I was in a hospital.

"Well, everything looks normal," a male voice said.

"Um, yeah, bad dream," I mutter.

"Logan, you're in the hospital. How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.

Instinctively, I reached up to my eyes, which were covered in fresh gauze. I also feel that the major gash across my face was stitched up as well, making it painful to talk or smile.

"I'm _blind,_" I said, more to myself than the doctor. It didn't fully dawn on me until just now what that meant. I wouldn't be able to see. Ever. Inside, I could feel my heart sink to my stomach, but another part kept reminding me what the dragon said. I deserved this fate. I deserved to be blind.

"Yes, unfortunately, your eyes were damaged beyond repair. We couldn't save them," he said sympathetically.

"And Alex . . ." I said.

"I'm sorry to inform you this, but he died in the same accident where you lost your eyes. He was crushed to death by the falling rumble. I'm so very sorry for your loss."

I let out a long, shuddering breath. If only they knew the truth . . .

"But, there's someone who needs to see you," he continued. His feet clicked across the floor, and the door creaked open. I jerked my head up as a familiar scent greeted my nose. The voice confirmed it for me.

_"Logan?!"_

"Dad!" I breathed. In seconds, I felt his arms wrap around my body. I hug him back, now wishing I could at least see him. I can hear him sob into my shoulder, and feel him shake.

"Oh, god, Logan, I am so sorry," he said somberly.

"It's ok," I say back. "It's not your fault. It's ok," I can barely keep myself together. I have never heard or seen my dad cry since my mother died. And now, he was falling apart right in front of me. I bury my head in his chest, surrounding myself in his musky scent. "I'm so sorry, dad."

Davis leaned against the opposite wall, hands in his pocket and a foot pressing up against the wall. Kitty-corner from his position was the room the basilisk was in. And standing outside and looking into the room was Mr. Handcock, his former teacher. An elderly and very kind man, he still held an air of respect and honor. He stood straight and tall and kept himself looking professional at all times. He even looked intimidating, even with his white hair tied back into a ponytail.

Davis pushed himself off the wall and walked to his side. "Boss's orders. He's your problem now," he said.

"Correction: he is my _student._ He is not and never will be a problem," Handcock said, if a little harshly.

"Why didn't you force him to go to Delph in the first place? It would have saved us one hell of a headache," Davis pressed.

"Believe me, child, if I knew this would happen, I would have," Handcock said softly. "But I could not force him to do anything. I wanted to give him a choice. I didn't want to force him to do anything unless he was ready. But in the end, he made the wrong choices, and he paid the consequences for them. Now all I can do now is help him make the right decisions for himself."

"Well, the boy's going to need all the help he can get," Davis muttered. Glancing inside, he saw the boy and his father hugging each other, both of their faces covered with pain and sorrow.

"Indeed," Handcock said


	6. Chapter 6

With Comments exchanged between Davis and Jasper Handcock, Jasper walked into the room and proceeded to approach the crying farther. "Excuse me I hope that I'm not interrupting something" he said, "My name is Jasper Handcock and I am a headmaster at Delphi school, we have the resources to help you son in his new... predicament".

_"Delphi" _Logan thought

"YOU DARE COME IN HERE AND TRY AND PERSUADE MY SON INTO COMMING TO YOUR SCHOOL, HIS OWN SCHOOL HAS..." he shouted but was not able to complete his sentence when Logan interrupted.

"Dad listen to him, what if he can help me better than my school" Logan explained. "I'm going to need all the help I can get" he added.

His dad started to sob, "This was not supposed to happen, you were going to get a college scholarship and make the big leagues" his farther exclaimed.

"Your son can still do that, he just need the help we provide" explained Jasper

"Dad I think that I should go to that school i think I will be happy there" explained Logan with a slight plea.

"Son are you sure" his farther asks.

"Yeah I am" Logan replies

"Great, I will make all the preparations, I will contact you I a couple of days" and with that he left the room.

3 hours passed and in that time he was fitted with ghostly grey glass eyes to replace the missing ones.

That night he was contacted by his mother in his dreams. "I'm so sorry Logan" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry I was not there to help you during this time".

"why are you sorry mum, there was nothing you could have done" he replied in confusion

"I could have done more than you think" she said, she then stepped back and turned into a Basilisk. Logan was shocked "y-your a Basilisk too" he exclaimed

"Yes Logan I am and I wish I was there to help you" she said before adding "However I will say this, do not fight the beast because he is who you really are, don't make the same mistake I did, I hid my true self away from your farther and you, because I was scared, and because I suppressed it I became very Ill and eventually died because I denied who I truly was" she explained.

"you have to embrace it, and when you do the pain will stop and you will start to enjoy your true form, please just accept yourself, for me."

She started to fade, "mum don't leave me" begged Logan

"If you're ever sad remember that I am always with you" she said while pointing towards his heart, she then faded into the background completely.

Logan woke up crying but it was not tears of sadness, they were caused by a sudden understanding of everything and a slight happiness that his mother was still watching over him after all this time. He sat on his bed crying for an hour, then he decided that he should go for a walk to clear his head. With his eye stick (the stick they use to move around without hitting something) he headed out the door. The fresh air felt nice on his skin and it relaxed him. He walked around aimlessly for about 10 minutes until he found himself being pulled somewhere. He decided to follow them, he felt like he was following his instincts so he decided to trust them, after a couple of minutes walking he heard twigs nap underneath him and he heard the trees rustle in the wind so he presumed that he was in the forest, as he kept walking his instincts got stronger, he knew he was close to where he was being led to go. Then he heard something, no it was not something it was someone familiar, "nice to see you again Logan", said the strangely familiar voice, then he remembered that it was the police woman who found him in that warehouse a couple of days ago, he remembered how nice she was to him and he new that he did not need to be scared.

"I wish I could say the same" he said as a joke, but then he remembered that he had never gotten her name, "I'm sorry i never got you're name".

"It's Kim" she replied

"It's nice to meet you...again, thankfully under better circumstances"

"I agree, how are you feeling?" she asked

"Better but I don't think that I could ever recover from what happened" he said honestly

"It will take time but things will get better" she said with a smooth calming voice. "Hold on your a Basilisk right?".

"yeah why?" asked Logan

"Can I see?" she asked

"I don't see why not, it's not like I can kill anybody now" and with that he concentrated expecting pain but strangely there was no pain just a large tingling sensation all over his body and then It stopped. But something was different it was like his body was picking up the smallest vibrations in the ground, and it created a picture in his mind, he could literally see with the vibrations of the earth.

"You look amazing" Kim exclaimed

"I actually feel amazing, I can actually see you" he explained

"Good that I don't have to train you" she said

"sorry what" he asked.

With that she shifted into her true gargoyle form and approached him, "am I correct in saying that you were pulled here by a force that you cannot explain" she said more of a statement that a question.

"Yeah how did you know?" asked Logan

"The boss told me to help you with your sight problem and he told me that he would guide you here so I can teach you, but it looks like all I need to do is offer an explanation" she explained.

She continued to say "you and your mother were the first basilisks to live for almost 200 years which makes you very rare and a great sight to behold" she said with a smile on her face looking up and down his body while he blushed.

Logan snapped out of it in time to ask "why did the boss want to help me, I thought he hated me?"

"He never truly hates someone, you and him just had a falling out you see he hates no one and he never holds a grudge" she explained

"anyway time for the explanation on how you can see...figuratively" she said.

"it is because your species has very sensitive nerves so they can pick up even the tiniest vibration also your hearing and smell is outstanding as well as well and using all of these senses you are able to create a picture in your mind of what the world is around you can also do this while you are in your human form but it requires more concentration" she explained

"Thank you for the explanation but I must be getting back otherwise my dad will kill me for being out this late" Logan explained

With that they both said their goodbyes and walked off but Logan did not see the point in changing because it was the middle of the night and everyone was asleep plus he ripped all his clothes while transforming so he thought it was for the best, but he actually started to like his true form it just felt right to him. So he picked up his seeing stick and left.

After a brisk walk he started to get used to the six legs and made it to his front door and wit that he changed back into his human form and entered the door and went to bed feeling like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

**(after Logan and Angie went to the funeral and the message from Logan's mother, sorry i wanted to get to my part of the story fast so I skipped these bits here is the link:** art/Logan-s-Beginning-Pg-39-150658353** go there to pick up the rest of the bits I missed)**

After two days he was invited to attend Delphi school for an induction day, he was dropped off by his dad went towards the entrance of the school. (without his stick since his ability has gotten better since he met Kim again)

As he reached the entrance he heard steps coming towards him, he spun on his heels so he was facing the sound, then he heard a familiar voice, "Hello Logan, nice to see you again". It was Jasper Handcock the headmaster, "you too" Logan replied.

"Are you feeling better Logan?" questioned jasper

"Much thank you" replied Logan, he continued to day "I still don't know where my class is yet"

"If you find Angie she will take you there, id I am not mistaken you two are in the same class" he said with a smirk, "ah here she is now"

"Hi Logan how are you feeling" she said caringly

"Much better thanks to you" he said with a blush, as she blushed at the same time.

To save them both the embarrassment Jasper interrupted and said "Angie can you take Logan to his class please first lesson is starting soon".

"Okay, come on Logan" she said happily.

With that they both ventured into school. And for Logan it was going to be an interesting start to the term.

**(sorry for the wait I'm having to deal with college so things have slown down please hang in there please review) **


End file.
